Connecting the Community through Food Scraps (Mid Term Goal)
Whether or not UIC decides to utilize an anaerobic digester to process food waste a portion should be captured for compost production. This could be used to cut costs on landscaping compost needs, for expansions of UIC’s Heritage Community Gardens, and to provide compost for local community gardeners.
A vacant lot on UIC’s west side provides a opportunity to turn a desolate field that separates organizations into a community garden/farm that could connect them, while processing food scrap into compost. The vacant lot is in-between UIC’s College of Applied health Sciences, Department of Public Health, the Jesse Brown VA medical Center, and the Carole Robertson Center for Learning. …show more content…
This cost includes soil-testing, removal of the concrete slabs, a closed bin rotating composter, and a 1,000 sq. ft. greenhouse. This cost be could be recouped within 1 ½ years from avoiding the $11,505 a year fee associated with UIC’s current collection of food scraps and with sales of compost estimated at $2(low average for Chicago) for a 40 lb. bag. The calculation assumes a slow uptake of compost collection from 53 tons at year to 300 tons by 5 years. This is the estimated weight of food scraps collection from the hospitals and student centers. Cities can help institutions of a similar size pay for these with subsidies.
A large limitation of this model is that labor costs associated with handing of the compost are not included; also transportation from SCE may be an issue. Current Heritage garden workers/interns could help with this along with current waste management staff but it was hard to estimate exact labor costs. UIC could also expand this further to supermarkets in the area that have large food scrap waste streams to make the program more viable and to support sustainable community
Whether or not UIC decides to utilize an anaerobic digester to process food waste a portion should be captured for compost production. This could be used to cut costs on landscaping compost needs, for expansions of UIC’s Heritage Community Gardens, and to provide compost for local community gardeners.
A vacant lot on UIC’s west side provides a opportunity to turn a desolate field that separates organizations into a community garden/farm that could connect them, while processing food scrap into compost. The vacant lot is in-between UIC’s College of Applied health Sciences, Department of Public Health, the Jesse Brown VA medical Center, and the Carole Robertson Center for Learning. …show more content…
This cost includes soil-testing, removal of the concrete slabs, a closed bin rotating composter, and a 1,000 sq. ft. greenhouse. This cost be could be recouped within 1 ½ years from avoiding the $11,505 a year fee associated with UIC’s current collection of food scraps and with sales of compost estimated at $2(low average for Chicago) for a 40 lb. bag. The calculation assumes a slow uptake of compost collection from 53 tons at year to 300 tons by 5 years. This is the estimated weight of food scraps collection from the hospitals and student centers. Cities can help institutions of a similar size pay for these with subsidies.
A large limitation of this model is that labor costs associated with handing of the compost are not included; also transportation from SCE may be an issue. Current Heritage garden workers/interns could help with this along with current waste management staff but it was hard to estimate exact labor costs. UIC could also expand this further to supermarkets in the area that have large food scrap waste streams to make the program more viable and to support sustainable community